COMMENTSThough both listed as artists, Carmine Infantino is primarily a penciler and Gene Day is primarily an inker. The cover art is done by Carmine Infantino and Terry Austin and is signed by the two.

SYNOPSISIn an escape attempt from Senator Greyshade's suite, Princess Leia encounters a guard near the lift that she needs to take. She feigns illness to lower the guards defenses and when he comes over to investigate, she grabs his other gun. Demanding information from the guard, Leia finds out about the Big Game and the increased security on the casinos. She then stuns the guard and proceeds on her way down the lift tube. She decides to find the Crimson Casino, their original meeting place and figure out a way to stop the Empire from taking over the Wheel and using the profits to fund their war machine.

Shortly before this, Luke is still laying in his bed in the medical ward quietly. His mind is far from silent. He dreams that he is being chased by Vader, but Ben Kenobi comes to him and convinces him that the brave must stand and fight. He confronts Vader but no weapon will stop the Dark Lord. It is then that Ben tells him he must battle with all the power within him.

Luke's body begins to struggle on the table, and he manages to burst out of the bonds, still in a daze. He gathers his items from the storage locker, all the while still seeing his inner battle with the Sith Lord. he suddenly awakes to find Leia and the droids looking over him, where he stands with lightsaber in hand surrounded by dead security guards. He informs Leia of his mind-touch with the other during his meditation and his dream. He is positive that Darth Vader is alive and searching for the Rebels.

On interlude on the planet Ultaar. Vader and a squad of stormtroopers are sifting through the dead remains of a rebel information retrieval team, when they find one man partially alive. The dying rebel lets them know that a half-man, half-machine bounty hunter called Valance did this in his search for Luke and the droids. Vader kills the rebel before contacting Captain Wermis on the orbiting star destroyer. Wermis lets him know that the coordinates he was given show no trace of anyone that could have touched Vader's mind. In response they locate the nearest destination that a ship passing by could have traveled—the Wheel.

While on the Wheel Master-Com informs Greyshade that Leia has escaped, and explains how he was not specifically told to guard her, but rather took some initiative for himself. He also lets Greyshade know that he is looking to forma relationship, like a friend, with Greyshade after seeing the un-droidlike behavior of Artoo and Threepio. Greyshade sends him back to the executive tower and the business of the Wheel, while dismissing Stroms offer of assistance with the security matters.

At the dock of Strom's light-cruiser, guards from the Wheel complete the killing of the skeleton crew left aboard. They then race onboard to steal back the Wheel profits stolen by the Stroms crew. The guards don't realize that Luke and company are observing and recording the spectacle.

Finally, Han is getting healed up from his first battle, only to be told that he must compete in yet another match to pay off all the fines he and his ship have incurred. He grudgingly enters the zero-gravity arena only to see that Chewbacca is one of the other contestants in this battle to the last man.